Have you ever sat outside on the porch looking up at the twinkling stars, wondering about the secrets that are hidden among them? There are many mysteries that the stars in the night sky conceal. Most of these hidden stories are unknown to millions around the globe.

A Glance at History

Stellar explosions are blasts of energy, often known as ‘beautiful energy’. They are incredible explosions that are difficult for the human mind to comprehend. Stellar explosions release a variety of radiation into space. Astronomers around the world were shaken when they observed an X-ray blast on September 12, 2004. Almost three explosions took place around the same time, while the final of the three, a gamma-ray burst, had the highest energy level. The radiation looked like an enormous flash to men on earth. These waves of energy are a sub-division of the electromagnetic spectrum. It was the High-Energy Transient Explorer (HETE- 2) observatory that caught the sight of these three bright flashes in the sky. These flashes extended far beyond the reach of our galaxy.

It is believed that gamma-ray bursts are similar to the Big Bang when one compares energy levels of heavenly blasts. These gigantic bursts literally outshine entire galaxies. Tremendous energy is released into space surrounding the blast. One theory states that when a humongous star has used up its main energy and fuel, and no longer has enough to survive, the results is it collapsing in on itself, which in turn results in high-intensity energy explosion. Black hole creation is a common result of such blasts, as collapsed material is denser than we here on earth can really imagine. Another theory that gives a possible explanation for these incredible gamma-ray bursts, states that these explosions can happen when two massive black holes collide with each other.

Types of Stellar Explosions

Novae and Supernovae are two major kinds of stellar explosions. Nova is a smaller and milder blast with less energy emission. Large violent explosions that happen on the surfaces of white dwarf stars, are known as Type la supernovas. These explosions generally take place around a billion light years away. Supernovae are extreme blasts of radiation and energy. Gamma-ray outbursts are largely associated with the supernova blasts.

Latest News – Shocking!

Researchers at Carnegie University have recently come up with a shocking new theory. The newly proposed theory states that interstellar space is abundant with small little whiskers of carbon material, to be precise-graphite whiskers. The fading of stellar explosions is completely attributed to the presence of these graphite whiskers. This newly introduced theory has introduced a challenge to older theories and points to the “dark energy” hypothesis. This theory was proposed a decade ago and it explained why stellar explosions brightness is dimmed. The discovery of cosmic expansion was also made a decade ago, in 1998.

Explanations Please…

This latest update has been made with regard to Type 1a supernovae. These may well be the brightest objects present in the entire universe. It is said that astronomers consider supernovae to be the ‘standard candles’ that come handy in the gauging of cosmological distances. Anyhow, observations in the late 1990’s forwarded claims that some supernova stars and explosions were too dim. This was the crux of the ‘dark energy’ hypothesis.

The new theory is totally based on the presence of these carbon whiskers in the minerals that are found to be inside of meteorites. It is believed that these have existed in the universe since its inception. The carbon rich gases that are at extremely high temperatures have certain small calcium-aluminum inclusions. Their age is believed to be approximately 4.5 billion years, which is the source and origin of the graphite whiskers. At that time, our solar system was a baby in comparison to other systems. The solar winds being generated were extremely strong. It was because of these strong wind currents that the whiskers that were formed in the close vicinity of the sun were thrown out into interstellar space.

It might also have been possible that these whiskers are spread throughout space by stellar explosions. The graphite whiskers and interstellar haze in space have dimmed the brightness of stellar explosions. Basically, it is the wavelengths of the light passing through space which are modified by the presence of these graphite whiskers in the universe that are causing the dimming effect.

The theory also claims that the waves that fall in the infrared category and around the same range will be completely affected. According to the ‘dark energy’ theory, the wavelength of the radiation that is emitted from Type 1a supernovae, wasn’t taken in to account and hence, the researchers felt that ‘dark energy’ existed and it was due to this energy that the dimming took place. Anyhow, after 1970’s, the graphite whiskers were being studied, and all things started falling in place. This is the only study that has actually affirmed that graphite whiskers exist and has hence proven their presence.

One of the researchers in this team also said that, if graphite whiskers are responsible for the absorption of the light produced by supernovae, gauging the expansion of the universe is going to be affected adversely and measurements are going to be extremely tough. The team has put in a lot of hard work and has collected substantial amounts of proof to verify their study. The team has given assurance that they will carry out a research project on the properties of carbon in order to find out if it is present in space. After some calculation and analysis is done, the report shall be forwarded to the European Space Agency and NASA.

Inference

Some theories might completely prove to be false if the carbon theory proves to be correct. These eye-opening discoveries leave one dumb founded at the gifts endowed by the universe. The idea of stars colliding and resulting in giant flashes of light that can conceal entire galaxies is truly amazing. Graphite whiskers have opened new doors to research and studies, and man will undoubtedly prove his wits with this discovery once again.